The Strategerist

Emily Hanford is a senior correspondent and producer for American Public Media and the 2023 George W. Bush Institute Citation recipient for her coverage of our Nation’s reading crisis.  She joined host Andrew Kaufmann and the Bush Institute’s Justine Taylor-Raymond at the Forum on Leadership to discuss her reporting, how she started in journalism, and what she’s uncovered about how kids learn to r...

Scott Carpenter is the managing director of Jigsaw, a unit within Google that explores threats to open societies, and builds technology that inspires scalable solutions to these threats.  He discusses how authoritarian regimes use the internet to their advantage, promising new developments in technology, and why internet access is essential to freedom and democracy. Scott joined the George W. Bush...

Secretary Elaine Chao immigrated to the U.S. when she was just eight years old without knowing any English -- and with hard work and determination, went on to lead a distinguished career in public service.  As Secretary of Labor under President George W. Bush, she was the first woman of Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage to ever serve in a presidential cabinet. She also served as Secreta...

Florencia Velasco Fortner is the CEO of Dallas-based nonprofit The Concilio, an organization that helps North Texas families striving to create strong futures for themselves and future generations. Florencia is the 2023 recipient of the George W. Bush Institute Trailblazer Citation Award, an honor given annually to an innovator who has inspired changed and enriched the quality of life in North Tex...

In 1962, Mary Badham made her big-screen debut in the classic film To Kill a Mockingbird as the beloved Scout Finch, opposite Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch.  Today, she has returned to Harper Lee's iconic story in the touring Broadway production by playing Mrs. Dubose -- the racist neighbor who represents the antithesis of Scout’s innocence and acceptance. And she believes that To Kill a Mockingbi...

Although Masih Alinejad was exiled from Iran in 2009, she continues to fight for the people of her country — and was named one of Time Magazine’s 2023 Women of the Year.  And even though she has to use her voice from afar, she has amassed 9 million social media followers that hear her message of equality and freedom for the women of Iran — and the world. Related Masih Alinejad on Instagram Women's...

As a legislator, Senator Portman believed in working across the aisle — and believes Americans want just that.  He offers advice to young people who are frustrated by politics today, talks about the new Portman Center for Policy Solutions in his home city, offers his thoughts on the war in Ukraine and on policy with China, and tells us about his historic — and supposedly haunted -- Ohio hotel, whi...

Ken Hersh, President and CEO of the George W. Bush Presidential Center, has never shied away from raising his hand and taking on new opportunities. From launching his career by picking up the phone and calling directory assistance so he could get in the door with a noted investor, to  becoming the CEO of the Bush Center, Ken has never been afraid to take a leap. Related 2023 Bush Center Forum on L...

Sharon McMahon -- @SharonSaysSo -- is a teacher to her core. From podcasts to Instagram feeds, she's dedicated to bringing more fact-based content into the American experiment. In this episode, Sharon explains her origin story and shares how she approaches the art of teaching -- and how everyone has a role to play in our democracy. Related Engage at the Bush Center, presented by NexPoint, featurin...

Fran Townsend was a pubic servant for decades, from the courtroom, to the Justice Department, and eventually to the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations. In 2004, she was appointed Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Advisor, where she briefed President Bush on a daily basis. She discusses those briefings — but also reflects on how her family has gotten to live the American dream.   She a...

When David McCormick ran for Senator of Pennsylvania last year, he brought with him the lessons he had learned as an Army Ranger, as a private sector CEO, and on the international policy stage in the Bush Administration -- and shares those lessons with us. David also reminds us that we have to have be able to have fervent debate and disagreement as a Nation, while remembering that whoever sits on...

Stephen J. Hadley, assistant to the president for National Security Affairs, joins White House communications director Kevin Sullivan in taking us behind the scenes of the Bush/Obama presidential transition and inside presidential briefings. Hadley discusses the compiled the declassified foreign policy memos in Hand-Off: The Foreign Policy George W. Bush Passed to Barack Obama. Hand-Off: The Forei...

Executive Director of the Bush Institute David J. Kramer is one of the world’s foremost experts on the region. We catch up with him to get his take on the largest war in Europe since World War II, on Vladimir Putin, and why it’s so important for the United States to continue to support the Ukrainian people. Related Bush Institute Policy Recommendation -- Supporting Ukraine: Why It Is Vital to U.S....

While the children of the survivors of the Holocaust might not have experienced it in the same was as their parents, they’re uniquely able to see a world that is simultaneously capable of unspeakable evil yet also kindness and respect.  Hadassah Lieberman was born in Prague, the daughter of Holocaust survivors who immigrated to the U.S. when she was a young girl.  She shares the perspectives she’s...

Ukrainian musical artist Ruslana came to prominence in 2004 as an active voice supporting democracy during the Orange Revolution. Today, she is once again using her voice and artistic soul as she fights in every way she can for her country that has been brutally attacked by Russia.  An attack that has upended the lives of millions of Ukrainians — and left many wondering if their friends and family...

In the years after the fall of the Taliban in Afghanistan, women made tremendous gains in the country. In particular, they were able to be educated and become leaders in fields like engineering, as Somaya Faruqi and Roya Mahboob did.  The Afghan Girls Robotics Team, founded by Roya and captained by Somaya, even stepped up during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic to make low-cost ventilators out...

PEPFAR, the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, has been credited with saving millions of lives in Africa. But as the new head of PEPFAR, Ambassador Dr. John Nkengasong, explains, the impact of PEPFAR extends even further beyond those who received lifesaving treatment. Related The Bush Institute's Oral History of PEPFAR PEPFAR at the U.S. State Department

Education is the foundation of the American dream and the pathway to economic mobility. And higher education is the culmination of that dream. For many families, that dream comes at enormous cost and sacrifice. We go behind-the-scenes of a Bush Institute policy discussion as four of our experts tackle college affordability, public policy, and the topic that's the subject of water-cooler talk every...

Creating a culture of trust is critical at any company, especially one focused on innovation. Alex Gorsky, April and Jay Graham Fellow at the Bush Institute and Johnson & Johnson Executive Chairman, discusses how J&J's COVID vaccine came to be, why asking for forgiveness not permission is critical to innovation, and how his parents shaped him into the leader he is today.

America is a diverse country.  Diverse in many senses of the word -- from race, to regionality, to religion, to political views, and all points in between.  Yuval Levin, director of social, cultural, and constitutional studies at AEI, explains that from the inception of our government to today, this diversity has been both the fundamental challenge to solve as well as its fundamental strength. Rel...

Gary Cohn, the 11th Director of the National Economic Council, former president and chief operating officer at Goldman Sachs, and current Vice-Chairman at IBM, struggled as a student because of dyslexia. But he tells us how the challenges he faced helped him learn about risk -- and how to not fear failure. Related 2022 Forum on Leadership Bush Institute's work in economic growth  

In 2019, as Dr. Deborah Birx was preparing PEPFAR budgets, she was looking at rich county-by-county infectious disease data in sub-Saharan Africa when word began circulating of a novel virus that could threaten the globe.  A few months later, as she moved into her role as White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, she was able to take the  lessons she learned from years of experience in global...

In America, your zip code can be a predictor of life expectancy. Gyasi Chisley, a 25-year health care executive, discusses health and equity-- and how we can work together to build better care in underserved zip codes. The Continual Struggle: Reflections on the Civil Rights Movement -- Engage at the Bush Center, presented by NexPoint Blueprint for Opportunity at the Bush Institute

As Americans, we're passionate about our country and its policies. We all want this to be the best place to live. And we might feel strongly that our solution or idea is the best one, leading to frustration when others don't see things the same way.  Bill Haslam, the Sammons Enterprises Fellow at the George W. Bush Institute, often had to make difficult decisions and tackle complex problems as Gov...

As the Nobel Peace Prize recipient for 2020, the United Nations World Food Programme provides desperately needed rations to every corner of the globe, no matter how dangerous the situation.  Executive Director David Beasley leads the organization and shares what he has seen on the ground, why he won't give up the hope of eradicating hunger, and why we should all be united in joining him on the mis...